Tales from a free company
by Lilly Salika
Summary: Lilly is on her first steps in Eorzea to search for her sister. When she couldn t find her, she decides to earn some money by helping some poor miners. But clearing a mine solo is impossible, so she needs back-up. That when she first hears of the legendardy Free companies of Eorzea. Will she get the chance to learn more about one of these FC s and and even join one?
1. Chapter 1

The sun was burning hot over Ul´dah. It was a beautiful city. And even more important, it was one of the 4 capitals from Eorzea. Ul´dah, the "golden city", as some would call it, due to its enormous wealth. No other city in Eorzea offered what Ul´dah could: endless streets full of shops, thick walls, which have never been conquered since today and the biggest airship-terminal in whole Eorzea. It was indeed a great town. People from all over the world travelled there to sell their goods. But not only the economy in Ul´dah boomed, also it's number of illegal refugees rose sharply. Thousands of them, forced to leave their homes due to monster attacks or garlean soldiers burning down their homes. Those poor people lost everything. Most of them travelled with ripped clothes and only their last supplies of food, which they mostly stole somewhere on the way and tried to make it to next bigger city in hope of finding peace there. Most of them travelled by foot, but some lucky ones even got their chocobos with them. In the middle of this hot, dry land, a small caravan, consisting of a wagon, 3 chocobos and 2 guards made her way from the ports near the small city Horizon to this jewel in the dessert. Inside this wagon, a young machinist called Lilly Salika is about to begin her journey. She will conquer the deepest dungeons, fight the scariest monsters and hunt for the best treasures, but mostly, she will find some true friends soon.

"So, what brings you to Ul´dah, young Lady", an old man facing her asked. "It's been a while since I saw a young, well dressed lady like you. What brings you to Ul´dah these days?"

Lilly looked at the old man. He looked like he already experienced his best days, but still something about him told her, his best days weren't just drinking beer all day. His robe looked quite used and also his grey hair showed his age clearly. "Well, family for short. My big sister is working in this area and she told me to wait for her when I arrive in horizon, but I only got another message there, which said I should meet her in a tavern in Ul´dah. You might know where I can find the "shifting sands"?" "The shifting sands? That's one of the biggest taverns in Ul´dah! Hundreds of adventures come there from all over the world to find hunting quests or just to hear stories about them." "Sounds like a great place to meet my sister, that's typical for her", Lilly laughed. "Indeed, but be careful young Lady, a lot of crazy strangers also go there. So not everybody in there will be your friendly neighbour type." "Don't worry gramps; I can take care of myself pretty well!" "Hey, I'm not that old! But anyway, there should be more than enough signs, so you'll easily be able to find your way"

Just as they finished talking, the wagon stopped. As they both hopped out, Lilly realised for the first time why Ul´dah was indeed a capital city. The towers in the middle of the city almost reached into the clouds and its walls were so high and solid, even with a catapult breaking through would be impossible. In front of the great gate waited an enormous crowd full of people, all begging and wanting to enter. The guards just pushed them back, forcefully if necessary and explained, how the procedure would work, but no one of the refugees actually listened.

"Damn, it's going to take forever to get through this crowd" "Don't worry, we are no refugees, we can take a shorter way inside. You have a pass or something?" "Well, yeah, my sister sent me this with a letter earlier. She said I should bring it here and show it to get inside". She pulled a little yellow card out of her pocket and showed it to the old man. "Ahh, worry not my dear, with this pass, they'll let us pass for sure!" "Is it some kind of special?" "Well, yeah, kinda… Let's go over there, I think that's where we are supposed to sign in" "But what about y..." Lilly wanted to ask the old man if he had a special pass too, but he already dragged her in the direction of the reception house.

Even though Ul´dah already looked big from the outside, its inside made every other city Lilly ever saw look like some small farmers property. People everywhere, all in the finest and most elegant clothes, but also beggars, soldiers and other warriors. Shops with more goods she could ever buy, reaching from a blacksmith over a tailor up to a jewellery. This city really had everything she had ever imagined in a capital. But the most impressive thing about Ul´dah was its diversity. In her hometown, the majority of the people were from the Hyuran race, just like her. But this was the complete opposite! Hyuran, Lalafell, Miquote and even some Au Ra were strolling along in this town, doing some shopping or trying to get people to join them for adventures. Lilly really had to get herself together, so she wouldn't stare awkwardly at all the new races.

Right in between all of this wealth, she noticed a woman and her child, sitting in a dark alley. They seemed very poor and reminded her immediately about all the refugees waiting outside the big door. Her clothes were ripped and she held her child like she really needed to protect it from something. Lilly felt sorry for the mother. No matter what happened to her, no one deserved a destiny like this, especially not with a child. She made her way through the crowd and need next to the mother to give her some money. "Here, take it. You look like you and you son really need it, don't you?" she smiled. "Th…thank you, young lady. May god protect you!" the mother almost sobbed. "It's the least I can do. Hey, can you maybe tell me where I can find…" A hand tapped on her to interrupt her. As she turned around, some kind of guard stood right in front of her. "Excuse me madam, is this beggar scum here bothering you?" The guard gave the mother an angry look. "Wait, what? No, she isn't at all! We were just having a normal conversation here, didn't we?" "Madam, the higher classes like you shouldn't talk with scum like this. You said you needed to find anything, right? Maybe I can help you?" Lilly became furious with this guy. How could he treat her like that? Wasn't she a person like anyone else here? Lilly clinched her fist already, but the mother took her arm to hold her back. As she looked at her, the mother just nodded to signalise its ok. "Fine. I'm looking for the shifting sands tavern. Can you show me the way?" "Of course madam! Follow me!" He turned around like a machine and started marching out of the alley. Lilly followed him but threw a small bag with a little of food in the mothers direction and gave her a wink.

"I'm sorry you hat do talk to this junk, Miss. You know, Ul´dah is a city of great wealth and our leaders really try too keep on to that status, but some beggars always slip through our fingers. But don't worry, guards like me keep them away from bothering the wealthier people", the guard laughed. "Disgusting…" Lilly mumbled. The guard ignored her and kept on telling:" our leaders are proud of how Ul´dah is now, and they don't want it to become a city full of beggars and thieves" "But those people need help; I don't think they come here to steal from you, they come here because they can't go anywhere else!" "Yeah, that's maybe true, but it's not Ul´dah´s job to take care of this problem. He stopped in front of a pair of stairs that lead into a tavern. "There we are, the shifting sands. If you want to know more about the city, talk to the owner, Momodi. I'm sure she will be more than happy to tell you more. Well then, my job here is done. See you around, madam!"

She gave the guard a pissed look when he left and then started to go up the stairs. The opinion about these refugees was really disgusting, just throwing them out wouldn't help anyone in any way.

As she reached the top of the stairs, the sound of an opening door woke her up from her thoughts again. Two heavily armoured warriors walked outside the bar and took a quick look at her, as Lilly decided to enter the tavern.


	2. Chapter 2

Immediately as she entered, she was welcome by the joyful music, the smell of good food and a strange feeling, that reminder her of her home. People were singing and dancing everywhere, even on their chairs and tables, as Lilly tried to make her way to the bar. Behind the counter, a Lalafell was starring directly at her. "Welcome! You look a little lost young lady, how can I help you?" "Well, I am looking for my sister. Her name is Aria, and she told me to wait here for her…" "Ah, you are Lilly, right?" Lilly grabbed herself a chair and sat down in front of the counter. "I'm Momodi, welcome in Ul´dah, Lilly. Your sister already told me that you would come here. Can I get you anything to drink?" Momodi seemed to be a really friendly and open person. "No, thank you. But I'd like to know where my sister is? I was supposed to meet her here at the port in horizon, and now I still don't get to see her here?" "Oh, don't worry, dear. She left a message for you here. She told me that she got in some unexpected troubles but she will be here by tomorrow. She said you should take a room and rest somewhere in the city until tomorrow." "That's so typical of her… sending me in a foreign country and then be nowhere to be seen…" Lilly sighed. She checked her pockets for some money for some money, but she gave that beggar her last few Gil, so she was completely broke. She slammed her fist on the table. "That's happening when you're too kind…" "Ah, I see what you're talking about"

"Hey, cheer up", a voice next to her said. "You need money you say? I know a good way to earn some, and I think you could help me, what do you say?" The voice came from a young Miquote sitting next to her. She must have been around Lilly's age, but she definitely looked more like a knight or a guard, than someone who is just here to have fun. Something about her told Lilly, that she knew how to hold a shield and protect people from their enemies.

"Hi there, my name is Ciri Belleteyen, I'm a Paladin. Nice to meet you", she giggled. Her breath had a slight scent of alcohol, and according to some empty mugs in front of her, it was clearly that this wasn't her first beer. "Ehm, Hi, I'm Lilly" "What a beautiful name, almost as beautiful as our wonderful barkeeper here!" she giggled and smiled to Momodi. "Keep your flattery to yourself, Ciri. You have to pay for your drinks either way" "Well, it was worth a try…" she sighed. "But back to business: You see that board over there? Over the poor drunk guy on the floor? This is our door to make some money. Here, check this out" She pulled a dirty note out of her pocket. "There's a mine nearby, the copper bell mine, and the workers there seem to have some… Let's say "smaller" problems, and they are searching for someone to help them. I'd solve this problem on my own, but they won't let me in when I'm alone, they said I should come back with a team. You wanna join me?" Lilly thought about it. It sounded both dangerous and exciting at the same time. "Well, it could take years for my sister to arrive… and since I don't want to sleep outside and meet one of those stupid guards again, I guess I don't really have that much of a choice. Alright, I'm in." "Excellent! Now we only need one more person, someone who helps us, when we get in trouble down there. What we need is a Healer or someone who can do white magic" "And… where could we find someone like this?"

"Oh come on, I can't believe not a single person in Ul`dah wanted to join us!" "Well, maybe this one guy would have joined us, if wouldn't have made fun of him because of his hairstyle…" "Oh come on, that's not fair! It looked like he had a chocobo-butt on his head and you know that"

After not being able to find a white mage or someone with similar skills, Lilly and Ciri decided to make their way to the mines. They hoped to meet someone in the small village nearby them, or even in front of the mines themselves.

"So, Lilly, tell me something about you. It's been quite a while since I saw someone like you in this deserted area. Aren't you engineers busy with more important stuff nowadays?" "Oh, I'm no professional engineer, if you think that" Why not? I heard those jobs get some crazy good payment?" "Well, it's not all about the payment. I don't want to work for someone who misuses these machines. I want to work with someone who knows why we developed airships and other machines, to explore, to travel and to trade, not to fight battles with them." "Well, sorry to disappoint you, but Ul´dah is surely the wrong place if you search for this kind of job…" "What? No, I'm not here for a job. My sister invited me to come over. She said it was highly important family business, and yeah… first I was supposed to meet her at the port in Horizon, then in the tavern in Ul´dah. And now well, you know the rest of the story so far. But I'm more curious about you. How did Momodi even serve you when you are broke? And even more interesting: How did you manage to get debts in there worth more than 3,000 Gil?" "Well, let's say, one thing led to another, shall we?"

Suddenly she stopped. Wait, did you hear that as well?" "Hear what?" Both remained silent for a few second. In some distance, big, heavy steps could be heard. "What's that?" Ciri grabbed Lilly's arm and pulled her behind a boulder. "Psht! I'm not a hundred percent sure what it is, but I'm definitely sure that it is not our friend!"

Lilly took a quick glance over the boulder and quite a distance she could make out a big, moving stone. "A stone golem…" Ciri mumbled. "We should hide here and hope it passes us, I don't think the two of us stand a chance against this thing" Suddenly, a scream could be heard. "Look, over there!" The golem wasn't moving towards them, it was moving towards something white. "That's a traveller!" Ciri shouted. "And look! He's still alive! We have to help him!" The person was buried by the rest of what seemed to be his wagon clearly couldn't move. "Come on, Ciri!" Lilly said as she sprinted towards the Golem. "We can't just let him die there!" "Wait Li…" Ciri yelled and tried to stop her, but she was already too far gone. "This will kill us…" she sighed.

The Golem was now directly ahead of the wounded traveller, ready to raise his foot and stamp on him. But just as he started to close his eyes and prepare for his last seconds, a loud "CLANG"-Noise made him look up again. "Hey Rocky! Why don't you go for the big fishes instead of killing the small ones?" Ciri yelled as she threw her shield on its head. The surprised golem lost his balance for a second and did some steps backwards. "Ciri, can you distract him for a while? I'll try to free the man in that time!" "Don't know if I can do that for long, but alright!" While Lilly rushed to the person, she could make out a bright flash behind her. "Come over here, big guy!" Ciri yelled. Meanwhile Lilly reached the man and tried to lift one of the broken parts from the wagon. "Thank you! You really saved my life!" "Don't worry about it, but I can't lift this bar, it's too heavy!" After the third attempt, she gave up. "No use, it's too heavy for me!" "Hey, look over there!" The man pointed at an almost broken part of the bar. Without any further thinking, Lilly pulled out her carbine and shot the broken part in two instantly. "Thank you again!" She lifted the leftovers and the man was finally able to escape. Just as he got out, a loud smacking noise could be heard. "Ciri!" The golem had slammed her right into a boulder. He took another look on her, making sure she lost her consciousness and turned then to Lilly and the man. They both did a few steps backwards, but a wall stopped them while the golem moved towards them, ready to crumple them both.


	3. Chapter 3

The golem tottered slowly towards them. It visibly had taken some damage already, seen on its broken stones, but not enough to be defeated. "That's not good… that's not good at all…" Lilly mumbled and loaded her gun. She aimed at the shining core, but hesitated to pull the trigger. "Wh… What's wrong? Freaking fire already!" the man shouted. One moment later, a bright flash made the both close their eyes for a second and the golem immediately turned around. "I'm not… done with you yet!" Ciri stood again, seemingly hurt and damaged, but she stood leaning on her sword. "Ciri! Stop this! You don't stand a chance like this!" "Shut up! What kind of paladin would I be if I would let my group members die on an enemy like this?" Her words were more coughed like spoken, but still she raised her sword and another bright flash appeared. The provoked golem let out a screeching sound and ran towards Ciri. "Ciri! Don't!" Lilly aimed again and fired at the yellow core. She fired and fired, some small pieces even broke away from the core, but she couldn't manage to get the golems attention. "Turn around you stupid brick! Here I am!" But it was useless. She couldn't get its attention anymore. Lilly fell on her knees, watching the golem reach back its fist, ready to defeat Ciri. It swung forward and Ciri closed her eyes and tried to cover her face. But just as the fist was about to hit her, it stopped. Ciri slowly opened her eyes and saw some kind of blue shield, as big as herself right in front of her. It seemed that this shield blocked he golems attack completely. "What in the…" The blue shield slowly disappeared and a green light shot through it and hit Ciri on the chest. She began to sparkle for a second and felt, how she got stronger again and how her wounds vanished. "A healing spell…"

Suddenly, a tall person in a white hood appeared next to Lilly. "Can't you hire Mi'quotes nowadays even for the easiest jobs, can you?" the person sighed. He held a wooden staff, had white hair and was like one or two heads taller than Lilly. But his most outstanding feature were the two horns that grew out of his head. "Au Ra's…", hissed Ciri. He raised his staff a second time and a green light appeared that hit Lilly. "What… What is this?" "This guy is a healer!"

The now furious golem pounded his chest which woke them up from their amazement and made them realize, their enemy was still directly in front of them. "I think we still got something to do here!" Ciri threw her shield at him again and dodged his next punch. "I got an Idea! Ciri, hold him still for a moment so I can shoot the core!" Ciri nodded, dodged another hit and slipped right under him. Just in the right moment, she slammed her sword directly in his foot, which made him loose his balance.

Meanwhile, Lilly loaded a special bullet in her rifle, aimed and shot straight through the core. A gigantic crack was seen, and as it tried to move any further, the core broke in 2 pieces and fell to the ground. The flying rocks one by one lost their power and fell to the ground as well until the only thing left were some rocks on the ground. Everyone was silent for a moment, but then the man broke the silence. "I can't believe it… you really did it!" "Well, I hate to admit it, but we wouldn't have won without our healer here…" Ciri mumbled. "Hey, is it my fault you 2 can't take care of yourself?" "Lilly tried to say something but the traveller stopped her. "Don't even try. An Au Ra, and a Mi'quote are two things that don't work together…" The Au Ra noticed what the man said and began to explain. "You know, we Au Ra used to rule over Eorzea with pride and sympathy, we were the ruling race in Eorzea" "Hah, what pride?" Ciri laughed. "You enslaved the other races, especially the Mi'quote! For decades, we suffered under your regin and it took years of war and catastrophes for you to realize that all races need to work together!" "Hmpf! You Mi'quotes are just a race of thieves and liars. There is no place for you in our peaceful world here!"

"Alright, alright, stop it you 2! I read some stories about Eorzeas past, but that is way back in the past, isn't it? Do you 2 really have to continue such a stupid argument like this?" "Hmpf", they both mumbled and looked away from each other. Lilly faced the healer. "See, we really have to thank you for your help. Can I ask you what your name is?" "I am Baldr Eisenschild. As you and your friend already noticed, I'm a white mage" "Well, excellent! Say, are you interested in making some money? We are on our way to the copperbell mines, but we still need a healer to join us, you want to?" "Hmm, I do need some gil indeed, and the copperbell mines may contain some interesting materials for crafting…"

"Wait, stop! Lilly, are you really expecting me to team up with this scum?"

"Ciri! Stop it, now! We need a healer, and we I don't think we will find one in this rock dessert here! Now, we have one right in front of us and you don't want him to join just because of his race? That's idiotic. Listen, you come with us and we split the reward of 30.000 gil on 3, so that everyone gets 10.000, does that sound fair?" "Hmm, 10.000 gil do sound fair. And also, I already saw I can't let you 2 alone. You'd be dead in about an hour otherwise…" "Great!" Lilly cheered. "I'm sorry if I sound noisy, but about what job are you talking, if I may ask?" the traveller interrupted them. "There was a note in the tavern of Ul'dah, that something happened in the copperbell mines and they need help from some adventurers" "Ahh, yes, the copperbell mines are one of the most important mines in the kingdom of Ul'dah, many of the materials from there are sold on markets all over the world. No wonder they set a reward that high… Well the entrance to the mines is just ahead of you, continue that way and you should find it for sure. Again: I really appreciate you saving me! May the gods be with you! I would reward you, but all my good were destroyed by that stupid brick…" "Don't worry, its fine. Anyways, should we…" she turned around to Ciri and Baldr, both of them giving each other angry looks. "Well… this will be fun I guess?"

After a while of arguing and insults, they finally made it to the mines. "Look! There is the entrance to the mines!" The entrance was between 2 boulders. Some miners were sitting in front of the mines under a tree, seemingly injured and exhausted. "Oh my god… What happened here? All these people are…" "For short, we discovered something in the mines, but it wasn't happy about it. But I am not allowed to give you any further information and I have to ask you to leave now" A small Lalafell walked towards them. His dirty clothes made it clear that he seemed to work here as a miner, but something about him was different. He wasn't injured or exhausted at all. "Well, we're here because we read this note in Ul'dah and…" "Ahh, you're the adventurers? Welcome, welcome! Sorry for being so harsh to you. Alright, listen, I will sum up what you need to know: While we kept digging deeper and deeper in the mines, we discovered something, an ancient kind of grave. First, we thought it was only a statue, but then it suddenly started to move. As you can imagine, miners aren't really good fighters, so most of them either ran away or got injured while trying. We managed to block that colossus with blocking some entrances, but they won't last forever. That's why I set up the note" "Wait wait wait, you discovered what? " "Some kind of ancient god. The miners said he called himself "Gygas" or something like that. I already did some research. Seems Gygas was the guardian of this mountain, and well, we have woken him up" "Hmm, I can understand that" "I wouldn't be able to beat him alone, but with a group of 4 adventurers, it should be possible, so I think it should work out just fine for us" "You want to go down there and fight as well? No offense, but you don't look like a fighter…" "Hey, don't underestimate me cat girl, alright! I may not look like it, but I'm a well trained black mage! I just work in the mines as well from time to time to earn some extra money. Now, give me a second to change and get my staff and then we're ready to go" As he walked towards a small shed Lilly noticed something. "Wait, what is your name?" I'm Grimm Umbra, but please call me Grimm"


End file.
